July 21, St Petersburg - Day 1

Hi Everyone.  We've been very busy since arriving in St Petersburg, so no time for blogging. We toured all day, then came back to the ship for 1.5 hours and off to the ballet.  The weather was perfect, sunny and about 20 Celsius. Apparently St Peterburg  gets 60 days of sun a year... yikes and the weather can change quickly so we were very fortunate with the great weather.  Tomorrow is suppose to be more typical and we were told to bring an umbrella.  It takes a while to get on and off the ship as we must go through security and very site we mustass through metal detectors. St Petersburg is a beautiful city with amazing sites and extraordinary history. They are preparing for the 2018 FIFA World Cup so lots of construction in the city.  

St Catherine's Palace with gold everywhere and the Amber room (no photographs allowed)

Traditional Russian lunch at Pdvorye, complete with entertainment and .....

You guessed it

The Church of Spilled Blood, the inside walls all filled with mosaics 

St Petersburg is rivers everywhere with a huge habour

July 20, Tallinn, Estonia

Estonians were dominated first by Sweden, then Russia 1720-1918 finally independent after WW I. In 1940 they were taken over by the soviet and sank into 50 years of communism. In 2004 Estonia joined the European Union. Estonia's population is 25% ethnically Russian.  Only 50 miles separate Helsinki, and Tallin; Stockholm is an overnight boat ride away. Tallinn's strengths are electronics and telecommunications. Skype originated in Tallinn. The country's nick name is E-stonia.

The Estonian's were under siege during the Soviet era and were not allowed to sing patriotic songs or wave their flag. On Aug 23, 1989, the people of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia held hands to make a Baltic human chain that stretched 360 miles from Tallinn to Vilnius in Lithuania. The Estonians kept singing and won their Independence in 1991. Today life is good for  Estonians. They are singing nation and a cultural loving nation that supports the arts, drama, and choral music with many notable conductors coming from Estonia.

We visited the beautiful old town of Tallinn.The only Russian Othodox Cathedral in Tallinn,  "The Alexaner Nevsky Cathedral".

Kohtuotsa Viewpoint.  Hotel Viru in the background was built from new Soviet wonder material called "micro-concrete" (60% concrete, 40% microphones)!!

Below is Pikk street, Tallinn's historic main drag.

Popularly called the Dome Church (Toomkirik) but officially the cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin. Once the church of Tallinn's wealthy German speaking aristocracy. Inside the church the walls are covered with more than 100 coats of arms. The earliest dates from the 1600s and the latest from around 1900. This collection is the largest in the world.

The town square (Raekoja Plats)

Through Viru Gate are many shops, with local artisans selling items made of wood, glass, and wool. These shops are down the Kateriina Kaik ally.

A wool shop.

A local painter, Antol Triboi

Goodbye old town Tallinn

July 19, Sea Day: Culinary Experiences

There is an endless array of food from every country, located throughout the ship in restaurants and lounges.  Our favorite place for dinner is "The Restaurant ", no reservation required, a set menu that changes daily that also includes standard items and best of all they wait on us. We usually eat breakfast in the "World Cafe" buffet style.

This food below from a small food bar "Mamsen's" in the Explore's lounge and specialize in local features, beef tartar, herring and shrimp open faced sandwiches and the brown cheese is fabulous.

Dinner at the "Chef's Table"

Kippers for breakfast, cooked to perfection!

Afternoon Tea at the "Wintergarden"

Dinner at "The Restaurant" the maitre de is deboning my sole fish. Perfect job. The people at the next table thought the fish looked so good and when they determined I was a fish conissour they all order the fish.

A delicious vegetable salad.

Peroggies

And the food is goes on and on .......

July 19 - Sea Day; Ship Activities

The Baltic Sea is bound by 9 countries, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germnay, Poland, Latvia, Russia, Estonia and Lithuania. The planet's youngest sea, the Baltic occupies a basin formed by eroding glaciers during the Ice Age. It's the earth's largest body of brackish water, receiving saltwater from the NE Atlantic Ocean and freshwater from more than 200 rivers. The result is low salinity which explains why so many fresh water plants and species survive in it.

Today it's a beautiful sunny day to do as little or as much as we want on the ship. The onboard activities include, 3 different lectures on Russia, a cooking demonstration, swing dance lesson, afternoon tea, outdoor sports games, trivia challenged, church service, and a variety of live music in the various lounges.  Of course the gym and spa are open. Hmmm what will I do today, such a difficult decision. I'm thoroughly contemplating my day as I sit on a comfy couch on pool deck gazing out the window at the endless sea. I enjoy the lectures so that's a good possibility and I am always interested in adding to my culinary skills. Blogging, reading and snoozing is also high on the list. Oops already missed 2 lectures and the cooking lesson!

The indoor pool with a retractable roof complete with big screen TV for movies and pictures.

The outdoor infinity pool and spa

Explorer's library lounge, a favorite quiet spot.

Wintergarden lounge, next to the indoor pool

The outdoor sports deck with exercise equipment, putting green, and shuffle board. Carl, my people are telling your people that today my exercising will consist of doing a lot of nothing with no guilt.

Lunchtime entertainment poolside with big screen pictures in the background.  Lunch, time to eat.....again!!

July 18, Gdansk, Poland

The ship docked in Gdyania, the newer port city in Poland and we then traveled 60 minutes by bus to Gdansk known as the city of glowing amber and gothic catherdrals. Gdansk was almost entirely destroyed during WW II and has been restored back to it's 16th century beauty.  More recently, the Gdansk shipyards were the location for Poland's revolt against the Soviet regime and the efforts of Lech Walesa and his supporters are commemorated in Solidarity Square, Gate No. 2 at Gdansk, Lenin Shipyard.  In 1970 these same shipyards had been the site where protesting workers were fired upon by the Communist regime killing 42 workers. Reaction to this event eventually lead to massive strikes and Polish independence. Needless to say the Polish people have been beaten down many times and have managed to rebuild. They are very proud of their country and determined to keep their independence and not allow Russia to enter Poland as they did in the Ukraine.

Photos of Gdansk after the WW II bombing

The Old Town restoration of the 16 century. Amazing site, you could spend days wandering.

Lech Walesa Solidarity Square, Lenin Shipyard

Today's Gdansk - the mile long apartment building where 5,500 people live. It's the longest in the world.

Today's Gdynia - industrial shipyard city where our ship was docked.

Today's Gdansk - the stadium was built for the World Cup Euro soccer 2012.  The outside of the stadium represents 8 different shades of Amber 

Amber is found in the Baltic region, from the resin of the pine tree and is 40 million years old. Amber has many different colors the with the most common being honey, red, cream, brown, green. It is impossible to tell real Amber from imitation Amber. Authentic Amber comes with a certificate and a specific certification symbol. Two ways to tell if Amber is real, if it floats and it burns. Not always a practical test!

July 17, Berlin, Germany

Our ship arrived in the city Warnemunde, a beach resort on the Baltic visited by many Northern Europeans. At 6:00am we boarded our tour bus for a 3 hour drive to Berlin and we returned to the ship at 6:00pm.  We travelled part way on the autobahn with no speed limit.  We were surprised that it is only a 2 lane highway each direction and because of heavy traffic no one could drive very fast. On the drive into Berlin there are many trees, it is very green and picturesque.  Berlin is 40% green space and water. Berlin is the third most visited city in the world, next to London and Paris.  This trip focused on historic Berlin.

A plaque on the sidewalk commemorating Ronald Reagan's plea for Gorbachev to open the Brandenburg Gate.

The bricks in the road mark the location of the Berlin Wall which was torn down. The car is in West Berlin and Brandenburg Gate is in East Berlin

Protesters at the Brandenburg Gate, a common site. Lots of police around.

In East Berlin, on my right, the picture below is the famous Adlon Hotel. This is where Michael Jackson stayed and held is baby covered by a blanket outside the window. The Queen and Rolling Stones have also stayed here.

In West Berlin, on the other side of the Brandenburg Gate is a large square where people gather for important celebrations.

This is an artist's memorial to the Berlin Jewish people killed by the Nazi's.

 This is the parking lot location of Hitler's bunker where he was found dead. After many attempts the bunker was finally destroyed in 1988.

This is the first electric traffic light in all of Europe

The Berlin Wall can be found in pieces throughout Berlin, mostly it is cement covered wire, but some locations have painted art on segments of the wall.

Checkpoint Charlie 

The Reichstag crowned with a glass cupola, symbolizes the government's commitment to transparency. 

Allied Museum honors the commitment of the Western powers to Berlin and Germany between 1945 and 1994

It's legal to drink alcohol in the streets of Berlin.  Kathryn, this ones for you.